Mass Real Estate Blog

While I’m not a mortgage broker, I am a real estate attorney, and I can safely say that the last two weeks have seen a lot of new refinance files come across my desk.  People (including me) are scrambling to lock in to lower interest rates and lower their monthly mortgage payments.

If you have questions, please feel free to e-mail (jcohen@massrealestateblog.com) or comment to this post.  I would be happy to refer a mortgage broker your way or answer any questions you may have.

And to those out there who are celebrating the holiday today, Merry Christmas!

Disclaimer

I have been asked to lead the attorney section of a new home buyer workshop on Saturday, January 31, 2008.  The workshop will run from 10:00 a.m. until noon.  The workshop will also have a mortgage broker and a real estate broker (Karen Nickel, of Coldwell Banker in Brookline).

These are always very useful for all involved.  If you’re interested, let me know via e-mail (jcohen@massrealestateblog.com).  RSVPs are mandatory to attend, but the workshop is *free*.

I’ll post more details as they become available, including short biographies of the people involved.  It will probably be in a conference room at the Marriott in Coolidge Corner.

Jeana spent about 15 minutes on Tuesday’s show explaining short sales (and letting us meet a prospective short seller).  Not that I watch that show or anything.

I promised you a discussion of short sales, so here it goes.  A short sale is a simple concept, and is becoming more prevalent in today’s market.  Here’s the one-sentence explanation:  a short sale occurs when a seller negotiates a sale of his residence for less than the dollar amount of the liens outstanding on the property.

More after the jump

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Here’s wishing you and your family and happy Thanksgiving!  I’ll be updating more after the holiday.

This question came in last week:

“I’m working with my broker to formulate an offer for a condo in Boston.  How much should I put down to “bind the offer”?  How about for signing the P&S?”

My answer, after the jump.

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This is an old post from Boston.com (I think it was in the Boston Globe Magazine about a year or so ago).  I came across it this weekend when I was searching for something unrelated on Boston.com.  It’s a good, humorous look at what happens when real estate transactions go online (a truly “public record”).

One of the responsibilities of the seller (or the seller’s broker, if there is one) in a real estate transaction is to obtain a certificate from the town’s fire department stating that there are working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the property.  This is true regardless of whether it’s a single-family residence, a multi-family dwelling (duplex, etc), or a condo unit, so long as it is a residential property.  The fire department sends an inspector to the property and he or she signs the certificate which is then brought to the closing.

Note that the certificate is brought to closing and should be presented to the bank attorney (or attorney for the buyer, if it’s a cash deal).

The charge for a smoke certificate is typically around $50, and is a cost paid by the seller.

Disclaimer

Going on record.  You hear that a lot if you work in a real estate law firm in Massachusetts.  But it is an important concept, and should be something you should keep in mind when scheduling your closing.  I’m posting this now because people read my prior post on Closing Dates and naturally asked the question, “What about picking a time of day to close?”

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I’m still working on the foreclosure/short sale post, so look for that this week or next (and e-mail your questions if you haven’t already).

I did get a question recently that I wanted to quickly post the answer to:  “Is there any strategy in picking a day of the month for a closing?  Is it more beneficial to me as a borrower/buyer to want to close early or late in the month?”

Read my answer, after the jump.

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